Some residents in Yopougon, a suburb of Abidjan, the commercial capital of Ivory Coast, have clashed with police officers on Monday.
The over 100 residents had attacked a coronavirus testing centre in the community as they protest the setting up of the structure there.
They also built barricades out of burning tyres nearby to prevent the use of the facility, fearing it could spark further spread of the disease.
The angry residents say people using the facility would spread the epidemic through their district.
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But health officials say the centre is one of several being built in Abidjan for voluntary mass coronavirus testing.
Police had to fire tear gas on Monday to disperse the angry mob who threw rocks at the police officers.
police spokesman Charlemagne Bleu told the media that the hostility from the residents was due to a misunderstanding that patients with COVID-19 would be treated at the centre.
“There’s been a lack of communication. It’s more like a testing centre for residents,” he said.
Bleu said there were no casualties from the clash between the police and the protesters but four arrests were made.
Reuters quotes one residents as saying that “They want to kill us. We don’t want this centre here.”
Ivory Coast has so far recorded 261 confirmed cases of coronavirus and three deaths.
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Source: Africafeeds.com
